' , \ . \ i \ . oot . ” . 1 . : . noe : ma Crooks bolt as AG spins tires FOES A Na eennenenesasanaenedneseseanaened snags crime and Re} punishment 1 was struck, when watching the TV news the other night, that three of the first four stories involved police _ chasing youths in Stolen cars. _. All three incidents ended in crashes, ; Fortunately, no ‘innocent people were injured in these evenis, However, Vancouver Police | " Inspector Dave Boyd got a little --too close to the police dog while . capturing a flee- ing junkie and fell afoul of some stlapping incisors. _ Talluded to the ‘rising f° problem of auto theft in a”, ~ recent column dealing with the shooting by Coquitlam RCMP of two teenage car thieves...’ _ [cited some numbers” | from Vancouver, police indi- , cating that auto thefts have ~ skyrocketed in the past cou- ’ ple of years. The first six months of 1997. have already ‘* outdone the totals for all of ; 1996 by well over two thou- sand stolen vehicles: ‘>. Insurance Corporation of B.C: statistics for the province show the rate of auto theft increased by 30 _ : percent to 40 per cent in © . cach of the past ‘two years. The problem ts showing up all over, but it is Lower Mainland municipalities which are bearing the brunt of the problem, Last year ICBC spent more than $183 million in auto theft and related crimes. This includes more than $90 million in replacement costs for unrecovered vehicles. Given the statistical increase so far this year, that figure will undoubtedly rise to more than $200 million, In February, ICBC announced a $3.5 million ini- tiative to combat the skyrock- eting numbers, Bur these pro- grains, as laudable as they may be, are only directed at pre- “ Frankly, it is scary as ~ hell when everything is oncoming traffic, even _ when it is headed in the same direction. ” ventive and educational mea- sures. = Attorney Genera! Ujjal Dosanjh cannot seem to come to grips with the prob- lem. . He suggested in remarks after the Coquitlam shooting that teenage thieves should have their ability to get a dri- ~ ver’s licence taken away until ’ they turn 21 years old. :-«, He also stated the police ‘should come under new guidelines governing when and how they should engage in high-speed chases. The police are already hamstrung when it comes to apprehending these punks. . In trying to stop the carnage, the AG seems to be encour- "aging flight from the cops, If the thieves know the police will not be allowed to chase them, what will deter them fran. smoking their tres every tlme they see red and blue lights in their mirrors? The simple answer, of course, is nothing, Don't get me wrong, ['m not for a moment suggesting the police be allowed to go screaming all over our streets every time they see a stolen car. On the contrary, both the ROMP and the city forces already have very stringent policies in place for all offi- cers engaging in a high-speed pursuit. In point of fact, far from looking to get involved in a chase, a high-speed pursuit is one of the most dangerous things a police offi- cer can do. Every cop knows it an will do everything in his or her power to avoid the pur- suit. Frankly, it is scary - as hell when every- thing is oncoming tratfic, even when it is headed in the same direction. Educating the public is fine and certainly has its place. Everyone should do whatever they can to mini- mize their chances of being victimized by these scum- bags who believe the laws are only made to be broken. This problem is fast becoming the most signifi- cant issue facing cops on our streets today. It needs to be fought by politicians with tough legislative changes and policies to ensure anyone who steals a car and runs from the police will see swift and effective justice. This means everyone involved in stealing a car will be arrested and charged, Not just the driver, This means the courts have got to start inflicting some kind of pun- ishment which actually means something to those convict: ed, This is nat simply a “property crime” as Dosanjh would have us believe. Innocent people are dying at the hands of these “non-vio- lent offenders.” Section 334 of the Criminal Code allows the courts to impose a sen- tence of “up to 10 years imprisonment.” Pd be happy to see a tenth of that. This is not a “hang ‘em high” mentality. T know of cases where the police have done surveillance on known car thieves just released by the courts, only to watch them steal another car blocks away from the courthouse. The molly coddling of these “young offenders,” social screw-ups, and junkies clearly is not working. Until they see serious, personal consequences for their actions, the numbers wilf continue to rise. ; So, too, will the body count. . Sunday, July 20, 1997 ~ North Shore News ~ @ Grate Dear Editor: Why bother with the story on Joan Gadsby? What a joke. This is just another story of some- one trying to push their problenis onto someone else and waste taxpayers’ money. She should leave it alone and take responsi- bility for her own prob- lems, 1 can't believe she expects anyone to think that after years of pop- ping pills she did) not now the effect of mix- ing drugs and alcoho! or, for that matter, what ¢ Next cime have her talk to my three-year-old son. He will + explain, . Please no more on thi I'm in great pain right no D,. Webster dwebster@direct.ca 7avLonmorivi TRANSMISSION SPECIALISTS A.TR.A. - B.C.A.A. CANADA/U.3. WARRANTY 176 PEMBERTON AVE. N.VAN, . Gadsby he pills were for. s lady. It hurts when I laugh and Ww, .R.A. CERTIFIED CENTRE.‘ our 3orn vean CONSIILTATION ... 985-7455 i Lorie In Town Convenience rays? Jeep's new TJ could be the finest all-round driving | machine ever built. 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